San Jose State football gears up for early spring practice

SAN JOSE -- With the 2013 recruiting class in the books, San Jose State coach Ron Caragher is anxiously awaiting the start of spring practice on Feb. 19.

It's an early start to spring ball but comes with a specific purpose. The Spartans will wrap up the session with their spring game March 23, just before the start of spring break.

"I really like getting it going, getting things underway and getting the new system and terminology established," Caragher said. "It's a little bit earlier and guys know things are speeding up fast. I think it'll all be good." The offense will see some adjustments to what Caragher and new offensive coordinator Jimmie Dougherty are familiar with, but won't change drastically.

"There's a lot of carry-over, there's a lot of similarities between what was run here last year and what we've run in the past," Caragher said.

Caragher describes the offense as a West Coast offense that focuses on being physical, while valuing efficient quarterback play that should take advantage of the skills of David Fales, last year's national leader in completion percentage.

The change defensively under new coordinator Kenwick Thompson will be a move to a 3-4 alignment.

Caragher said they won't use a "pure nose" and the defense will react similar to a 4-3, but having the additionally linebacker on the field makes them more versatile.

"Your base personnel matches up to the spread offenses that are out there," Caragher said.

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San Jose State's recruiting class finished ranked next to last in the country, above only Buffalo, according to Rivals.com. Scout.com viewed the Spartans' class slightly more favorably, ranking them 114th out of 125 teams.

Scout had SJSU just above Louisiana Tech and ahead of only one Mountain West Conference team, UNLV. The small size of the Spartans class is partly to blame as the rankings are based on a total number, and more signees adds to that number.

In term of the average ranking of its recruits, Scout has SJSU ranked eighth in the Mountain West, ahead of New Mexico, Air Force, Utah State and Wyoming.

Offensive lineman David Quessenberry and tight end Ryan Otten both received invitations to participate in the NFL combine in Indianapolis on Feb. 23-26. Workouts for lineman and tight ends are both on Feb. 23.

A pre-combine analysis of Quessenberry on NFL.com says the former Spartans left tackle "may be able to stay at tackle at the next level, but might be a better fit for offensive guard." As strengths, it notes Quessenberry's low pad level and mean streak.

Otten's analysis suggests he could be a mid-round pick and earn "playing time at least as a regular reserve contributor in the NFL." He's noted for strong hands but needs to work on his speed.

Fales and Caragher are both traveling to Columbus, Ohio, this weekend when the SJSU quarterback will be honored by the Touchdown Club of Columbus as one of three 2013 players to watch.

Fales is joined by Fresno State quarterback Derek Carr and Marshall quarterback Rakeem Cato. The organization annually awards the Sammy Baugh Award to the nation's top passer and Fales finished as the runner-up to Louisiana Tech's Colby Cameron.

The club will also honor its other 2012 players of the year, which include Stanford's Zach Ertz and Ed Reynolds, Wisconsin's Montee Ball, Kansas State's Collin Klein and USC's Marquise Lee, among others.